The biggest change since he was hired as interim city manager in December 2012 is that the City Council voted Nov. 12 to begin formal talks to contract for fire services to Riverside County, spelling the end for the cityâs 108-year-old department.

âThat was a very serious issue that started long before I got here,â Bradley said Thursday, Nov. 22, his last day working for the city. âI arrived just in time to receive the proposals from Hemet Fire and Cal Fire. We spent the next nine, 10 months dealing with the issues.â

Many residents rallied in support of the local department and Bradley, who previously served as city manager in Oceanside and Temecula and was interim manager in Murrieta, said he wasnât expecting the vitriol sent his way.

âIâve been surprised by many of the reactions to city policies by a segment of Hemetâs population,â he said. âIâve never been attacked personally on social media before. That was a surprise.â

Pictures were posted on Facebook purporting to show Bradley, 74, sleeping during City Council meetings. He also received nasty emails, he said.

When he was hired, Bradley was accused of being a stooge for County Supervisor Jeff Stone â" only hired to deliver the cityâs public safety agencies to the county.

âI can stand at the street corner and scream at the top of my lungs that those allegations were false and malicious,â he said. âThe facts are what they are.â

Although the council voted to contract for fire services, Bradley approved a new three-year deal for police officers that includes raises and bonuses. He also signed off on a proposal by Police Chief Dave Brown to cut crime in Hemet, and the perception of crime, by the end of 2014.

Bradley was hired to replace another interim manager, Mark Orme, who was promoted in August 2012 to replace Brian Nakamura, who resigned to take the city managerâs job in Chico.

Bradley was a candidate when Orme, then the assistant city manger, was elevated, then was hired about three months later when a new city council majority was elected.

Council members said Bradley was brought aboard primarily because of his economic development experience, especially as city manager in Temecula when plans were made to build The Promenade mall.

While it appears only dollar stores and a handful of restaurants have opened in Hemet in the past year, Bradley said other businesses are in the works.

âOne of the most visible is the recent breaking ground for the tractor supply store (on Florida Avenue),â he said.

Plans are in the works for a development by Regent Properties of a 200-acre site on the west end of town and thereâs an agreement with the county for sewer improvements at the east end of the city that will facilitate development there, Bradley said.

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